Valimail offers a robust, automated DMARC enforcement platform. We found its core strength lies in its ability to automatically identify email sending services, apply DMARC, SPF, and DKIM authentication, and enforce policies without extensive manual intervention. The platform is designed to handle SPF flattening natively, which is a significant advantage for domains with many sending services.
Beyond DMARC, Valimail includes features like BIMI support, detailed visibility into senders (both authorized and unauthorized), and continuous protection reporting. We appreciated how it abstracts much of the underlying complexity, providing a streamlined experience for achieving and maintaining DMARC enforcement.
ELK DMARC, as an open-source, self-hosted solution, provides a powerful framework for DMARC reporting built on the Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana (ELK) stack. We observed that it excels at ingesting raw DMARC aggregate reports, processing them, and presenting them through customizable Kibana dashboards.
The feature set is essentially limited only by one's expertise in the ELK stack. It allows for deep data dives and custom visualizations. However, it does not offer automated enforcement, SPF flattening, or managed authentication features like Valimail. Users must configure these aspects manually, often requiring strong technical skills to set up and maintain the system effectively.
ELK DMARC
How easy is each product to use
User experience
ELK DMARC
Valimail prioritizes ease of use, making complex DMARC deployments manageable even for teams with less specialized email security expertise. We found the dashboard intuitive, providing clear, actionable insights into email traffic and authentication status. Its automated processes mean less time spent on manual configuration and more on understanding reports.
The platform aims to simplify the journey to DMARC enforcement. While initial setup involves DNS changes, the ongoing management is largely hands-off. The focus is on presenting data in an understandable format, which is a major benefit for quick decision-making and reporting to non-technical stakeholders.
ELK DMARC targets users with a strong technical background, particularly those familiar with Linux server administration, Docker, and the ELK stack. We found that deploying and configuring it requires significant command-line proficiency and an understanding of Elasticsearch indices and Kibana dashboard creation.
The user experience is less about point-and-click automation and more about customization and direct control over the data. While incredibly powerful for those who can wield it, it presents a steep learning curve and demands continuous maintenance. It's not a solution we would recommend for users seeking a 'set it and forget it' experience.
ELK DMARC
Which product has the best support
Support
ELK DMARC
Valimail offers comprehensive support tiers, ranging from a knowledge base to dedicated account and technical managers, especially with their paid plans. We observed that they provide onboarding assistance, which is crucial for successful DMARC implementation. This managed support is a key differentiator, as they actively guide users through the enforcement process.
The availability of expert help, including add-on services like Valicare, means that organizations can lean on Valimail's team to navigate complex email authentication challenges. This level of proactive and reactive support is what one expects from a commercial enterprise solution.
For ELK DMARC, support is primarily community-driven. As an open-source project hosted on GitHub, users rely on documentation, online forums, and contributions from other users. We found that there are no official vendor support channels or dedicated teams to assist with deployment, troubleshooting, or custom configurations.
This model demands self-reliance. While the open-source community can be helpful, it's not a guaranteed, immediate, or dedicated support mechanism. Organizations adopting ELK DMARC must be prepared to have in-house expertise or rely on third-party consultants for any issues or customizations.
ELK DMARC
Who should use each product
Suitability
ELK DMARC
Valimail is an excellent fit for enterprises and mid-market organizations seeking a fully managed, hands-off DMARC enforcement solution. It caters well to those who prioritize strong email security without wanting to dedicate significant internal IT resources to DMARC management. SMBs with growing email infrastructure will also find value in its simplified approach.
MSPs (managed service providers) can leverage Valimail to offer DMARC services to their clients efficiently, benefiting from its multi-tenancy capabilities and streamlined management across multiple domains. It's ideal for organizations where time and expertise are at a premium, making DMARC enforcement accessible and effective.
ELK DMARC is best suited for highly technical organizations, large enterprises with existing ELK stack deployments, or those with the internal resources and expertise to manage their own infrastructure. It's a cost-effective choice in terms of software licensing, assuming in-house technical talent is readily available.
It is not generally suitable for SMBs or MSPs that lack deep technical DMARC and ELK stack expertise. The overhead of deployment, maintenance, and custom configuration makes it less practical for organizations without dedicated DevOps or security engineering teams. While powerful, it demands a significant investment in internal resources rather than financial outlay.
ELK DMARC
How does Valimail compare with ELK DMARC?
ELK DMARC
DMARC report analysis
Aggregating and interpreting DMARC data for insights
Automated and intuitive dashboards
Requires manual analysis of raw data
Source detection
Identifying legitimate and unauthorized email senders
Automated identification of senders
Manual identification from raw data
Forward detection
Detecting email forwarding that impacts DMARC
Requires custom parsing rules
Spoof detection
Identifying and mitigating email impersonation attempts
AI-driven detection and blocking
Requires manual configuration of rules
Notifications and alerts
Automated alerts for DMARC policy changes or issues
Configurable, smart alerts
Configurable within Kibana
Reporting
Comprehensive reports on DMARC compliance and email traffic
Comprehensive, executive reports
Customizable within Kibana
API
Programmatic access to DMARC data and management
Available in Enterprise plan
Elasticsearch API available
Multi-tenancy
Managing multiple domains or client accounts
Portfolios for Enterprise clients
Custom setup per instance
SPF flattening
Managing SPF records to avoid 10-lookup limit
Automated for compliance
Manual implementation if needed
Hosted DMARC
Cloud-based service for DMARC management
Fully cloud-based solution
Self-hosted solution
BIMI
Brand Indicators for Message Identification support
Core feature and add-on
Manual setup required
MTA-STS/TLS-RPT
Email encryption enforcement and reporting
Available in enterprise plans
Not natively integrated
Blocklists and reputation
Monitoring email blocklists and sender reputation
Integrated monitoring
Requires external data integration
AI copilot
AI-assisted DMARC management and insights
AI-driven detection features
Not available
DNS monitoring
Monitoring DNS records for misconfigurations or changes
Automated record oversight
Not a primary focus
Self hostable
Ability to host the software on your own infrastructure
Cloud service only
Designed for self-hosting
Free trial/free tier
Availability of a free version or trial period
Valimail Monitor product is free
Open-source, free to use software
Drawbacks and what to watch out for
Valimail's primary drawbacks include its pricing model, which can be expensive for smaller businesses and may lead to vendor lock-in due to its deep integration into DNS. Some users also report that certain features are not as developed as competitors, and some reporting can lack detail or clarity. For ELK DMARC, the main challenges revolve around its technical complexity, the need for significant in-house expertise, and the absence of dedicated commercial support.
We have pulled the average ratings from G2 for each product, and also included the most recent negative reviews for each product in full. Positive reviews tend to have less detail and have a higher chance of being fraudulent, so negative reviews are a better signal for your decision.
4.6 / 5(421)
ELK DMARC
0 / 5(0)
Easy DMARC Monitoring But Not Great
3.5 / 5
What do you like best about Valimail?
Valimail is pretty simple to setup and use. We were wanting to monitor some changes to DMARC, and Valimail was the platform we ultimately decided to use.
What do you dislike about Valimail?
A few things I don't like:
1. The free vs premium features are frustrating. I can't see enough value from free to validate a move to premium.
2. The Sender Requirement Failure feature is in beta and never really works. I can't only get it to work if I expand it before a week, and even then it's hit-or-miss.
3. It doesn't really do enough. Other platforms I've tried did a better job at helping to explain the WHY and HOW rather than just the what. Valimail primarily focuses on the WHAT.
4. Some of the feature organization is weird within the app, even after having used it for a few months. I can get more value in the account overview than the sender requirements failure, which is counter-intuitive IMO.
What problems is Valimail solving and how is that benefiting you?
We had a baselevel view of email security when I was initially hired and wanted to monitor the DMARC changes effectively.
Verified User in Construction
Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
No G2 reviews
G2 is the most popular review platform for DMARC products, so this is a strong signal that this product is not popular.
I like Valimail - mostly.
3.5 / 5
What do you like best about Valimail?
Good interface for viewing DMARC reporting information.
What do you dislike about Valimail?
Price, it'd be nice if they could institute a model based on volume rather than the number of email domains.
What problems is Valimail solving and how is that benefiting you?
Valimail provides DMARC provides good aggregate reporting for our email domains, allowing us to implement to the eventual reject policy goal.
Verified User in Real Estate
Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)
Straightforward onboarding
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about Valimail?
Ease of set-up and great customer support.
What do you dislike about Valimail?
Some features aren't as developed as some competitors, however ultimately it's up to each organization to decide the value of those features.
What problems is Valimail solving and how is that benefiting you?
Being able to report on DMARC successes and failures, to help us fine-tune the configuration to ensure each domain is correctly configured.
Verified User in Oil & Energy
Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)
Valimail Simplifies DMARC Management, But Watch for Vendor Lock-In
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about Valimail?
My favorite thing about Valimail is having a single portal that puts all DMARC reports into an easy to understand view. Having this information allowed us to identify hundreds of 3rd party email sources sending on behalf of our domain. Doing this without such a portal would be incredibly difficult especially in a franchise setting like ours where we have more services sending on behalf of our domain than most other companies.
What do you dislike about Valimail?
Valimail isn't cheap but you definitely get what you pay for. I also grow concerned about vendor lock-in now that I have setup Valimail to handle DMARC, SPF and DKIM with no exist strategy.
What problems is Valimail solving and how is that benefiting you?
Valimail solves the problem of visibility into who is sending on our behalf and makes identifying them easy.
Verified User in Non-Profit Organization Management
Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)
A Must-Have for Email Security
4.0 / 5
What do you like best about Valimail?
The best thing about Valimail is its fully automation feature as we can get the reports automated with whole monthly data .
As I prepare reports every month in which I have to include the malicious email data so I do not need to manually check each single thing , the Valimail does it for itself.
What do you dislike about Valimail?
The thing which I dislike about Valimai is that its little expensive especially for the businesses which are small nd not much expanded .
What problems is Valimail solving and how is that benefiting you?
The problem which Valimail is solving for me is the manual effort for exporting the data related to spam emails and its security checks are the best .It filters out the emails properly and which are suspicious , they get rejected easily .
Verified User in Transportation/Trucking/Railroad
Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)
Pricing
Valimail offers a range of paid plans with varying features, starting with a free monitoring tier, while ELK DMARC is an open-source solution whose costs are limited to the infrastructure required for self-hosting.
ELK DMARC
Small
Up to 10k emails / month
Monitor is free, Enforce starts at $5,000/year, Align Bronze $19/month (up to 500k)
Self-hosted, hardware costs
Medium
Up to 100k emails / month
Monitor is free, Enforce starts at $5,000/year, Align Bronze $19/month (up to 500k)
Self-hosted, hardware costs
Large
Up to 1 million emails / month
Enforce starts at $5,000/year, Align Bronze $19/month (up to 500k), contact for Premium/Enterprise
Self-hosted, hardware costs
Enterprise
Over 1 million emails / month
Contact for pricing for Enforce Premium/Enterprise, Align beyond 500k